Fascinating article in WSJ today on Sprint significantly increase web surfing speed-will require new phones being released in 4th qtr 2005.


Sprint Takes Aim at Verizon
With New High-Speed Service

By JESSE DRUCKER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 7, 2005 11:37 a.m.

Sprint Corp. said it will this month begin offering wireless Web access at speeds comparable to wired high-speed connections in dozens of cities, expanding to nearly half of the population by the end of the year.

The company's upgrades to its cellular network, using a technology called EV-DO, is Sprint's effort to match the offerings of Verizon Wireless, which started offering the technology in late 2003. Verizon Wireless, the country's second biggest cellular operator and a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, already offers EV-DO in many cities.

The service from Sprint, which operates the country's third biggest cellular operator, will mean that subscribers can get wireless access to the Internet at high-speeds nearly anywhere they can get a Sprint cellphone signal in those markets where the new technology is available. At first, EV-DO will enable traditional web access through cards that consumers slide into laptops for subscriptions ranging from $40 per month to $90 per month. The company said the services -- like video clips -- will be available on new consumer-oriented devices like cellphones and hand-held devices during the fourth quarter of the year.

This month, the service will be available in parts of several big cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas and Miami. By the first quarter of next year, the carrier says it will available in 60 metropolitan areas.

Cingular Wireless, the country's biggest cellphone operator since its purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., has said it will offer similar services -- using a technology known as HSDPA -- in between 15 and 20 markets by the end of the year.

It remains unclear, however, how big or how lucrative a market there is for any of these wireless data services. Sprint has signed up millions of customers to its existing offering, called "Vision." So far, the service has merely kept the company's average cellular customer revenue steady, but it hasn't increased that figure.

In addition to deploying the EV-DO technology from Qualcomm Inc. throughout cities, carriers like Sprint and Verizon Wireless have also targeted airpots to compete with offerings from providers of Wi-Fi technology, which enables much faster wireless connections at shorter ranges. Both carriers also offer Wi-Fi services.